Kier Group

The challenge

Kier Group is a leading construction and infrastructure services company providing specialist design and build capabilities. Founded in 1928, it is the UK’s second biggest house-building and construction contractors.

Senior managers had identified a lack of confidence in negotiations, both internally and externally. They wanted to see maximised engagement within project teams during internal negotiations, which left both parties satisfied with the outcome. In external negotiations, they wanted to not only maximise revenue, but ensure negotiations were an opportunity for building long-term mutually beneficial relations with clients and other stakeholders.

Our approach

With this in mind, we rolled out our world-renowned Black Belt Negotiator programme. The aim was to help staff at all levels to understand the why negotiation so frequently goes wrong and the importance of emotional buy-in rather than the traditional, and often ineffective, confrontational approach.

Having experienced the programme, Human Resources Specialist, Tayyiba Nazir reported the difference she saw in TWI’s approach, in comparison to other training companies:

“There are a lot of companies who come and claim that “they can do this and they can do that”, but I have seen that you have made a massive difference in the organisation…

“Your methods don’t just target the problems in the company, but importantly highlight an individual’s issues, their limiting beliefs and subconscious biases.

“You don’t blame – which is a common training approach. You help people to change their mindset and it really impacted on the culture and value of the business. People see the difference.”

The results

Following up with Tayyiba and the team, we were astounded that the results went much further than simply improved success with negotiation and better deals. The training improved communication and inter-departmental problem-solving, as well.

Tayyiba explained:

“Senior managers came and said that you can ‘feel the difference’.

“The culture before was that everyone was ‘just working’ and they weren’t sharing. But after the training we noticed they were more ‘open’…We could see there was open conversation and better communication cross functionally. Throughout the company, there was more transparency. Rather than just sending an email, people were sitting and resolving problems together. Problems were solved faster and more effectively.

“100% – we saw a wide-ranging impact across many areas, not just negotiation.”

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